We knew that ESPN took a big hit near the beginning of football season when their dispute with YouTube TV took them and the other Disney-owned networks off the distributor, but Monday, we learned just how big that hit turned out to be. Analysts from Morgan Stanley in November had predicted that Disney lost more than $4 million per day that the “Worldwide Leader In Sports” was missing from the streamer, according to Variety, but it seems that they were being too conservative. According to their own earnings report, Disney says ESPN’s operating revenue for the last quarter was off by $110 million dollars, which equates to a $7 million per day loss.
According to Variety, ABC and Disney’s other entertainment networks were also down during the carriage dispute, but by how much is not known, as Disney has stopped reporting operating incoming and revenue for its linear television business beginning in December.
ESPN and Disney’s other television networks, including ABC, the Disney Channel, FX, and NatGeo, were removed from YouTube TV on October 30 when the two sides could not come to an agreement for an ongoing carriage rate. Disney claimed that Google, the parent company of YouTube and YouTube TV, failed to offer a rate they claimed was fair, while YouTube said the rate Disney wanted would force them to raise rates on their subscribers, which could have caused subscribers to cancel in favor of their competitor Hulu+ Live TV (which is owned by Disney). The cost of YouTube TV went up by 14% in 2025, from $72.99 to $82.99 per month.
The two sides reached a resolution after 15 days, with Disney’s networks returning to the streamer on November 14. But that resolution didn’t come before YouTube began handing out $20 credits to subscribers for the loss of ESPN and two consecutive weekend of both college football and NFL action.
